CELPIP® Speaking Task 3 sample: Community Kitchen for Healthy Lunches
Describing a Scene · Preparation: 30 seconds · Response: 60 seconds · Published
Original practice questions in CELPIP® task formats, created independently by CELPIP Study.
Practice question
Miyu is listening to your practice response without seeing the picture. Describe this community kitchen in detail so she can picture the people, objects and activities. Preparation: 30 seconds. Response: 60 seconds.
Model answers
These are transcripts of a model response, provided for comparison with your own recording.
Level 7 sample answer
124 words
Miyu, this is a community teaching kitchen on a humid summer afternoon. The back windows are open. An instructor in a navy apron is watching a steaming pot, with her hand near the stove knob. On the left, an older man in green looks surprised because a cucumber slice is rolling toward his cutting board's edge. A boy in yellow holds a bowl underneath it. In the middle, a woman in red is draining vegetables over the sink. On the right, a man in grey can't close his full lunch container. A girl in purple reaches for a bigger one. Um, a woman in orange is steadying a bowl on full drying rack, while a man in blue hold a wet plate above it.
Why this answer is at level 7
This level 7 answer gives Miyu a clear tour and covers all the people and their main activities. Compared with the stronger answers, its vocabulary is simpler, its spatial descriptions are less precise, and grammatical slips weaken the final description.
In the middle, a woman in red is draining vegetables over the sink.
— Content/Coherence: The location and action are easy to follow, but “in the middle” gives only a broad position. The stronger answers place her in the foreground, helping Miyu distinguish her from the instructor farther back.On the right, a man in grey can't close his full lunch container.
— Vocabulary: The everyday wording communicates the problem clearly. The stronger answers use “overfilled,” which explains more precisely why the lid will not close, and describe the man's amused expression.a woman in orange is steadying a bowl on full drying rack, while a man in blue hold
— Listenability: The missing article before “full drying rack” and the verb form “hold” interrupt an otherwise understandable description. The stronger answers use accurate grammar to keep attention on the crowded drying area.An instructor in a navy apron is watching a steaming pot, with her hand near the stove knob.
— Task Fulfillment: This supplies useful visual details about clothing, activity and hand position. The stronger answers also locate the instructor in the centre background, making it easier for Miyu to position her within the kitchen.
Level 9 sample answer
158 words
Miyu, the picture shows a busy community teaching kitchen on a humid July afternoon. The rear windows are open onto a plain courtyard. At the stove in the centre background, an instructor in a navy apron watches a steaming pot, her hand poised at the control knob. On the left, a surprised older man in green has paused beside his cutting board because a cucumber slice is rolling toward its edge. An eager boy in yellow holds an empty bowl underneath. In the foreground, a woman in red concentrates on draining rinsed vegetables over the sink. To the right, a man in grey is amused by his overfilled lunch container, which won't close. A teenager in purple reaches for a larger empty one. At the back left, a woman in orange steadies a bowl on a packed drying rack. A man in blue waits with a wet plate above it, looking hesitant. Space is clearly at a premium.
Why this answer is at level 9
This level 9 answer improves on level 7 through clearer positioning, more precise vocabulary and consistently accurate sentences. It remains largely a sequence of individual descriptions; level 11 more deliberately groups related activities and explains how people and objects fit together.
A man in blue waits with a wet plate above it, looking hesitant.
— Content/Coherence: The plate and hesitation connect naturally to the preceding description of the packed rack. Level 11 integrates both people into a shared description of the congested drying area, giving that interaction a clearer organizing idea.Space is clearly at a premium.
— Vocabulary: This idiom neatly draws together the overfilled container and packed drying rack. Compared with level 7's simpler wording, it adds interpretive range. Level 11 puts more of that precision directly into its descriptions of the objects and actions.To the right, a man in grey is amused by his overfilled lunch container, which won't close.
— Listenability: The location cue and relative clause make the situation easy to follow without awkward repetition. Level 11 connects the man's attempt with the teenager's response in the same sentence, creating a more continuous account of their interaction.The rear windows are open onto a plain courtyard.
— Task Fulfillment: This helps Miyu picture the setting beyond the people and adds an environmental detail absent from level 7. Level 11 further establishes the entrance viewpoint and identifies the colander, making the imagined scene more specific.
Level 11 sample answer
171 words
Miyu, we're looking from the entrance into a community teaching kitchen on a humid July afternoon, with open rear windows overlooking a plain courtyard. The participants are occupied with different stages of preparing food and clearing up. In the centre background, the instructor in navy watches a steaming pot attentively, her hand poised at the stove knob. At the front left, a surprised older man in a green apron has paused beside a cutting board as a cucumber slice rolls toward its edge. An eager nine-year-old boy in yellow holds an empty bowl just beneath it. In the centre foreground, a woman in red concentrates on tilting a colander of rinsed vegetables over the sink. To the right, a grey-shirted man looks amused while trying to close an overfilled lunch container; a teenager in purple reaches encouragingly for a larger one. The drying area is more congested: an orange-cardiganed woman steadies a small bowl perched on the packed rack, while a hesitant man in blue holds a wet plate above it.
Why this answer is at level 11
This level 11 answer combines precise spatial guidance, specific objects and connected descriptions of shared activities. Its overview and grouping give Miyu a coherent picture of the kitchen, while varied sentence structures convey detail efficiently; the dense wording calls for controlled pacing within the response time.
The participants are occupied with different stages of preparing food and clearing up.
— Content/Coherence: This overview gives the details an organizing purpose before the tour begins. Miyu can understand the stove, vegetable preparation, lunch packing and drying rack as parts of a shared kitchen activity.a woman in red concentrates on tilting a colander of rinsed vegetables over the sink.
— Vocabulary: “Colander,” “rinsed” and “tilting” identify the tool, the vegetables' condition and the physical movement. This creates a more exact visual picture than simply saying that she is draining vegetables.a teenager in purple reaches encouragingly for a larger one.
— Listenability: The reference “a larger one” avoids repeating “container” while remaining clear from the preceding clause. Linking her response to the man's difficulty helps the listener follow a connected interaction, although the full sentence needs measured delivery.An eager nine-year-old boy in yellow holds an empty bowl just beneath it.
— Task Fulfillment: Age, expression, clothing and bowl position give Miyu several concrete visual cues. Following the rolling cucumber description, this placement makes the relationship between the boy, bowl and cutting board easy to imagine.
What moves an answer from 7 to 9 to 11
These are model answers written to show each level. The labels are practice estimates, not examiner scores.
Orient the listener to the scene, then group visible details by location or activity. Use precise descriptions and spatial connections rather than an unconnected inventory.
- Content/Coherence: Level 7 models communicate the main ideas; level 9 models develop relevant details with clear connections; level 11 models sustain precise, well-integrated development.
- Vocabulary: Compare adequate everyday wording with more varied, accurate choices at level 9 and flexible, precise expression at level 11.
- Listenability: Higher-level delivery needs clear pronunciation, rhythm, intonation and controlled pauses. Transcripts suggest phrasing and organisation, but cannot demonstrate these audio features; a recording is needed.
- Task Fulfillment: Compare how fully the response addresses the request, develops enough relevant detail and maintains an appropriate tone for the audience within the task limits.
Assess the criteria together. A longer answer or rarer words alone do not establish a higher level.
Answer this question and get your level
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- Birthday Picnic at a Park Shelter
- Apartment Courtyard on Moving Day
All speaking Task 3 sample questions · Read the Task 3 guide